Workshop: Mindful Practices and Legal Hurdles for Psychedelic Churches

This half day workshop is an opportunity to learn the fundamentals of and recent updates to the legal right to religious exercise. We’ll consider sacramental practices, psychedelic church communities’ operations, and ethical obstacles. The boundary between legal recognition of sincere spiritual practices from the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) framework and enforcement risks of the Controlled Substances Act has shifted. While the first RFRA religious-based exemption was in 2006, three of the five existing federal exemptions to churches for ayahuasca ceremonies have been granted in the last two years, including the first by DEA determination from its petition process. However, hazards remain for leaders and participants of psychedelic churches: raids and criminal charges, unintentional and intentional harms, lacking resources for churches and leaders, licensing board investigations of therapists and doctors, and loss of tax-exempt status, access to social media, and access to payment processing providers. The growing interest in—and visibility of—psychedelic churches reflects the deeply meaningful spiritual role of sacramental practices.

The workshop will map the real-world legal pathways and traps: the RFRA strict-scrutiny framework, takeaways from the latest DEA exemptions and federal and state case law, and the need for and evolving development of professional and ethical standards and accountability systems.

This workshop is aimed at anyone interested or involved in psychedelic churches, including church leadership, ceremony facilitators, seekers, and participants, licensed professionals, and attorneys. Participants will leave with a grounded understanding of how psychedelic churches can establish mindful approaches to their practices and prepare for legal hurdles.

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